House GOP chairman wants Afghan detainee names

AP foreign, Tuesday January 14 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) â House Republicans are seeking the names of 72 detainees that Afghan President Hamid Karzai ordered released from prison.

Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon says that during a Capitol Hill meeting, top Pentagon officials didn't release the names he had requested from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. In a letter to Hagel dated Jan. 10, McKeon wrote that Americans deserve to know who Karzai is releasing and whether they pose a threat to the United States.

The release of prisoners marked a new tension point in the U.S.-Afghan relationship as talks continued on a new, long-term security agreement. Karzai said there was not enough evidence to hold the detainees.

State Department officials have said the detainees are "dangerous criminals" linked to terrorism.